We watch the machinations of the press whittling down each GOP candidate like the rotating duck shoot at a carnival. We watch this when we know that ANY of the GOP candidates as president would be far above the current administration. Those who at this point in time cannot see this are hopelessly lost. I believe a true conservative platform is the Tea Party Platform. Our running candidates seem to gravitate toward the Tea Party at least in their speeches. But are they really conservative? My premise at the outset is that no matter who is ultimately chosen by the GOP to run, those who understand the gravity of another 4 years with Obama will vote for him/her.

1. Eliminate Excessive Taxes – Excessively high taxes are a burden for those exercising their personal liberty to work hard and prosper as afforded by the Constitution. A fiscally responsible government protects the freedom of its citizens to enjoy the fruits of their own labor without interference from a government that has exceeded its necessary size, scope and reach into the lives of its citizens.
2. Eliminate the National Debt – By implementing fiscally conservative policies at all levels of government, progress can be made toward eliminating the U.S. National Debt. Massive increases in the National Debt have created and continue to create a huge burden for the next generation of Americans, thus imperiling the country’s short-term and long-term economic health and prosperity.
3. Eliminate Deficit Spending – All deficit spending must be eliminated immediately. We insist that government representatives at all levels maintain a fiscally responsible budget and balance the books as would be expected of any American business.
4. Protect Free Markets – America’s free enterprise system allows businesses to thrive as they compete in the open marketplace and strive toward ever better services and products. Allowing free markets to prosper unfettered by government interference is what propelled this country to greatness with an enduring belief in the industriousness and innovations of the populace.
5. Abide by the Constitution of the United States – The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land and must be adhered to without exception at all levels of government. This includes the Bill of Rights and other Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and their provisions designed to protect states’ rights and individual liberties.
6. Promote Civic Responsibility – Citizen involvement at the grassroots level allows the voice of the American people to be heard and directs the political behaviors of our representatives at both the local and national level so they, in turn, may be most effective in working to preserve the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of this country’s citizens.
7. Reduce the Overall Size of Government – A bloated bureaucracy creates wasteful spending that plagues our government. Reducing the overall size, scope and reach of government at both local and national levels will help to eliminate inefficiencies that result in deficit spending which adds to our country’s debt.
8. Believe in the People – The American people, given their guaranteed freedoms, will thrive in a democratic, capitalist environment which allows individuals to strive toward ever greater achievements, innovations and the efficient production of needed and valued goods and services.
9. Avoid the Pitfalls of Politics – American politics is burdened by big money from lobbyists and special interests with an undue influence on the peoples’ representatives. The Tea Party movement is seen as a threat to the entrenched political parties and thus is the continual target of smear campaigns and misrepresentation of its ideals. We choose not to respond to these attacks except to strongly and explicitly disavow any and all hate speech, any and all violence as well as insinuations of violence, and any and all extreme and fringe elements that bring discredit to the Tea Party Movement. We are a peaceful movement and respect other’s opinions and views even though they do not agree with our own. We stand by the Tea Party beliefs and goals and choose to focus our energies on ensuring that our government representatives do the same.

Conservative issues with our candidates:

First–Herman Cain: Goodbye Herman. Many of us are sad to have lost what you stood for. We are sad you may not have been upfront about the skeletons in your closet whichever of them were true. And if true, had you been honest about them, most would have accepted your human failings and still supported you. As it stands, the present concern about a lack of transparency stands out far beyond any mistakes you may have made in your life.

1.) Jon Huntsman:
Issues with Jon: He has a leftist record on the environment and global warming. He stood agains 70% of his state of Utah’s voters in his support of civil unions His quotes out of a spring 2011 campaign ad: “I think health care is a right” and “putting a value on carbon either suggests that you get a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system underway.” . In addition, Huntsman supported…the most fiscally irresponsible bill in American history…the $800-billion Porkulus (also known as the ARRA). All House Republicans and all but three GOP Senators (Specter, Snowe, and Collins) opposed it, as did Gov. Palin, Gov. Perry, and many others…Huntsman thinks that the problem with the Porkulus is that it wasn’t large enough! On energy, President Obama and Nancy Pelosi tried to impose on America an unconstitutional cap-and-tax scheme. Jon Huntsman believes that it’s a fantastic idea. He also has singled {defense} out for massive reductions, even though it’s already at a historically low level of 3.50% of GDP and less than 15% of the total federal budget. Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/07/john_huntsman_wasting_conservatives_time.html#ixzz1gTcAX45V(FromAmerican Thinker).
In the last debate, Huntsman argued for defense spending via strategy. He has more foreign policy experience than any other candidate though under a Democrat administration: Huntsman argued that defense spending should follow strategy. Terror will remain a challenge for decades, he forecast. It should guide spending, procurement and America’s alliances. Gingrich added another element—America’s heavy military presence in Europe which no longer serves its strategic interests. “The Russians aren’t coming anymore,” said Huntsman. That’s not isolationism, he added. It’s realism. His economy plan calls for major changes to the U.S. tax code and the passage of new free trade policies to improve job growth in the U.S. My issue with Jon is that he has worked for Obama and is a textbook definition of a RINO (Republican in Name Only). Like McCain, Collins and many others, we want to weed out these folks from our leadership, not place them in the presidency to do more damage to what our Founders had in mind for this country.

2.) Rick Santorum: He remains strong on social conservative issues and defense. Santorum laid out the socially conservative principles of his “Faith, Family and Freedom Tour” at his first tour stop in Iowa on Friday. He calls for: banning federal funding of embryonic stem cell research or any family planning or medical group that performs abortions; repealing a mandate that health insurance plans cover contraceptives; defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court and forbidding military chaplains from performing same-sex marriages on military bases. In addition, he has a concrete plan on Iran.
Santorum would call on Congress to abolish the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has drawn criticism for its liberal rulings; to reinstate the ban on military service by openly gay men and women; to allow prayer at school functions; and to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Santorum also supports a “personhood” amendment to the Constitution, which would state that life begins at fertilization and would result in banning abortion, banning certain kinds of birth control, and potentially making in vitro fertilization more difficult.
He consistently defends defense. and is a proponent of a strong economy having presented his Made in America plan. While I like a lot of what Rick stands for, I worry that he could not gain re-election in his own state and am concerned about his ability to rise to the top and annihilate the Obama machine.
3.) Michele Bachmann:Like Rick, Michelle is a social conservative. She is strong on defense and has a plan for the economy called–American Jobs Right Now Repatriation, Cutting spending and government, Cutting taxes, Repealing Obamacare, Repealing the Jobs and Housing Destruciton Act )(Dodd-Frank), Legalizing American Energy Production and Natural Resources, Repealing any Job Killing Regulations, Increasing Exports, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Paving an Innovation Pathway, and something called Unleasing American Investment. Michelle stands with Rick Perry and Santorum as one of three truly conservative candidates fighting for the nomination. A nomination the establishment of the GOP wants to avoid for fear of losing the precious “Independents.”
I like Michelle. I would like to see her as the GOP nominee. I know they see her as too much of a Tea Party supporter. That is a problem. For them and us–because of their Tea Party prejudice.
4.) Ron Paul: Ron Paul is a stanch Libertarian. Ron has a platform called: Plan to Restore America The synopsis of this plan is as follows:
SYNOPSIS:America is the greatest nation in human history. Our respect for individual liberty, free markets, and limited constitutional government produced the strongest, most prosperous country in the world. But, we have drifted far from our founding principles, and America is in crisis. Ron Paul’s “Restore America” plan slams on the brakes and puts America on a return to constitutional government. It is bold but achievable. Through the bully pulpit of the presidency, the power of the Veto, and, most importantly, the united voice of freedom-loving Americans, we can implement fundamental reforms. Sorry Ron, I see Ron as too kooky and off the charts on his defense and foreign policy.During the Ames debate in August, Paul said the following about Iran: “Even our own CIA gives me this information that they have no evidence that they are working on a weapon.”

Shortly afterward, Paul elaborated that the United States has no right to interfere with Iran, suggesting that Iran can develop nuclear weapons to “successfully compete with other nations.” Accordingly, conservative talk show host Mark Levin countered Paul’s statements with the following: “Hitler would have wanted nukes too.”

Paul’s remarks aside, Iran under Ahmadinejad is armed and dangerous in all regards. ( From The Washington Times).

Paul takes his Libertarian views and walks over the edge with them. Many of us can’t follow.

The Tea Party conservatives don’t agree however because he has flip-flopped on several of their issues–abortion, environment, and immigration for starters. Then there is Romneycare…always a problem.
6.) Newt Gingrich: The big concern with Newt aside from his own flip flops (Pelosi commercial, Doug Hoffman issue, etc.), seems to be his “inability to govern himself.”…elite conservative media are rolling their eyes, with National Review editorializing last week against the Gingrich candidacy.

His character flaws, including impulsiveness and half-baked concepts, made him a poor Speaker, the magazine wrote. “Again and again he combined incendiary rhetoric with irresolute action, bringing Republicans all the political costs of a hardline position without actually taking one. Again and again he put his own interests above those of the causes he championed in public.”

“Gingrich has always said he wants to transform the country,” it concluded. “He appears unable to transform, or even govern, himself. He should be an adviser to the Republican party but not again its head.”But even if a TV-loving and increasingly newspaper-averse public doesn’t quite get the insider aversion to Gingrich, would their publicly-voiced doubts persist if, say, he were to win and thus face President Obama in the fall? Would partisan pragmatism trump the seeming moral convictions being voiced by so many who know him so well? “McCain was seen as a hot-headed crazy guy but, once he got the nomination, the Republicans were less inclined to trumpet that,” said Dallek.
Newt’s plan for the economy is based on his Jobs and Prosperity Plan as follows:Stop the 2013 tax increases
Make the United States the most desirable location for new business investment
Move toward an optional flat tax of 15%
Strengthen the dollar
Remove obstacles to job creation imposed by destructive and ineffective regulations, programs and bureaucracies.
Implement an American energy policy
Balance the budget
Repeal and replace Obamacare
Fundamental reform of entitlement programs
Regarding his social conservatism, he has a Fidelity Pledge that some question.
It may be that the “extraordinary” tension between Gingrich’s rank-and-file support and elite-Republican disdain is starting to break down.

While I love hearing Newt expound on his brilliant historical analogy, I do worry about his off the edge commentary with seemingly little thought behind his statements regardless of context.
7.) Rick Perry: Perry believes: Government’s role is to create an environment ripe for growth, then get out of the way. Texas has gained more than one million jobs while the rest of the nation lost over two million jobs. Since June 2009, nearly 40% of all net new American jobs have been created in his home state. Perry’s plan is the Cut Balance and Grow Plan which reforms the tax code, adds a flat tax, eliminates some taxes and preserves deductions, etc. He stands as a social conservative and is strong on defense and foreign policy. His problem with public speaking is on the verge of ending his candidacy.
On Greta VanSustern’s Fox News Show, Rush Limbaugh stated that Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann and Rick Santorum were the three truly conservative choices for presidential candidates.

If we look at all of the candidates, we see similarities and differences:

Three important legs of the conservative platform are economic freedom, social issues and a strong defense/foreign policy. We know that with Obama, our country’s demise is rooted in his lack of action and opposing action in all three. But we also have conservative candidates that are less than strong in their commitment to our conservative values. But all of the concerns mentioned pale in comparison to the consideration that Obama may get a second term–a second chance to bring this country to total degradation.The decision seems to be a no brainer: Any of the candidates are BETTER THAN OBAMA.